I never realised how exciting the world of start-ups could be. Huge amounts of dedication, dollars and drive are channelled into something that’s not 100% guaranteed! Yes, it’s a significant risk for everyone involved, however, the continuous learning and pushing outside one’s comfort zone is a reward worth experiencing.
I’ve met with founders, CEOs and angel investors who all agree it takes huge amounts of determination, sales, and passion to accelerate in the start-up world.
A shared belief
Gavin Lennox, angel investor and former CEO of Invenco believes building the right people is central to the growth of a business. To do that, there must be alignment in every sense of the word. Alignment of resources, market, the direction of the business to common values and vision of what they want to achieve.
This rings true for our start-up, Sprout. We work with small to medium businesses in order to achieve alignment firstly with directors, owners and founders. We commonly see directors of businesses that have very different ideas of where the business is going. We truly believe if you don't know where you are going (and are aligned at a director level), then how are others (i.e your team) going to help you get there. If it doesn’t start at that level, how can they expect their people to really get on board with it and believe in it?
Wheels in motion
Take driving your car for instance. What happens when it pulls in one direction or the other, veering towards the left or right? It usually means it’s off course and a wheel alignment is needed to re-centre it.
This can impact fuel efficiency, driving safety and extends the life of your tyres. It requires continuous maintenance and care.
Just like a wheel alignment, the same applies to a business. When the business is clear about the direction in which they’re heading and everybody is on board with that vision, it makes for a smoother and more enjoyable journey.
Planning is only the start
While alignment is foundational there is a view that often the challenge is the follow-through and execution of those well-meaning planning and strategy sessions. You can do all the planning in the world, but it needs to be communicated and applied effectively.
At Sprout, we hear the frustration from leaders to truly implement what they've strategised. We’ve therefore been developing clearly defined road maps for business owners to execute these plans, which has made a massive difference.
Defining an implementation plan can often also help to crystallise and clarify aspects of the strategy, which is another benefit.
What’s limiting you or your business? Are others on the same journey as you? Are you on the same route to your destination? How do you know? Ask those around you, you may be surprised…
